About us

Here at Maple Ridge Nursery we grow one of the largest collections of Japanese Maples in the Southeast as well as a large selection of Conifers specifically selected for our area. All of our plants are grown here in Georgia so they are well suited to hotter climates. My wife Christy (The love of my life and my enabler, she makes my passions possible, without her nothing would ever get done) and I started our family business in 1988.

Hello, I am Mike Francis. I grew up in the nursery business, as my Grandfather Henry Haralson (a great man) was a nurseryman who owned his own nursery for 35 years. He taught me how to grow things and appreciate plants. 

I am a collector at heart with a wide range of interests. We collect conifers such as Chaemacyparis, Cedrus, and Cryptomeria. The # of cultivars of these is growing so fast I would hate to guess how many we have.  We have over 200 varieties of hosta and of course our Maples of which we have over 350 cultivars of Acer collected. I have been speaking and writing articles on the subjects of Japanese Maples and Conifers for about 15 years. I have had talks with as many as 200 people in attendance and as few as 10, but if I can get 1 interested person to listen it makes me happy to talk about the plants I love. I also have a passion for Koi and Water Gardening. 

     Christy and I have 2 children Michael 18 and Alyson 7.  Family is more important than anything. Please excuse the toys and things laying around the nursery as our children are being raised here when not in school. We are trying to instill the values of hard work along with the pleasure of working with the soil and a healthy respect for the environment. Please visit us.

Thank you  

Mike Francis